Background | |||||||||||
Addressing climate change in an integrated manner is one the key global challenges and priorities. Working in over 170 countries and territories, UNDP is uniquely placed to work with all sectors of society to help mobilize the institutions and resources required to support countries implement their climate action targets in the context of the Paris Agreement. In 2018, UNDP and WHO signed a Memorandum of Understanding and committed to collaborate on addressing the social, economic and environmental determinants of health and supporting multisectoral responses to health emergencies and to health challenges arising from climate change. In 2020, UNDP and WHO-Europe launched a joint value proposition on “Addressing climate change and health in the Europe and Central Asia region”, which provides an overview of key thematic and programmatic entry points toward strengthening national health adaptation and mitigation capacities. Climate change impacts human health and the health sector in various ways: rising temperatures lead to increased heat strokes and deaths related to cardiovascular or respiratory issues; extreme precipitation and flooding result in damages to health infrastructure and the aggravation of water-borne diseases; mudflows and landslides cause accidents and injuries. Climate change will bring major changes to the epidemiology of infectious diseases through changes in microbial and vector geographic range. Climate change, interacting with environmental change more broadly, has already made conditions more favourable for the emergence and spread of certain infectious diseases. Global warming, change in precipitation regime and increased frequency of extreme events such as droughts and floods directly affect availability of safe water. This exemplifies the complex interaction between different health impacts. The direct effects of climate change on health are compounded by indirect climate change impacts like loss of food supply – linked to droughts, floods and cold spells – which can create and exacerbate nutritional issues, subsequently increasing the vulnerability of populations to disease and mortality. Countries in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) experience, and will continue to face, increased temperatures, more frequent and severe natural disasters related to climate change caused by shifts in temperature, precipitation and water regimes (e.g. heat waves, drought spells, floods and other climate-driven extreme events). Yet many of them lack the capacity and resources needed to prepare for and respond to this challenge. In 2020 the national public health systems in EECCA were significantly affected by COVID-19. Support is required to make sure that COVID-19 recovery investments are climate informed and climate-proof and in support of decarbonization of the health sector whose mission is to health and not contribute to harming the health of people and of planet. UNDP seeks to engage a consultant for health baseline and climate vulnerability analysis (hereinafter “Consultant”) to contribute to the development of a joint UNDP-WHO regional Programme on climate resilient health services in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA). The consultant will be expected to deliver high quality, cutting-edge technical advisory support to the development of a Concept Note and pre-feasibility study for the vertical fund regional programme/project focused on climate resilient health services in the EECCA region. He/she will coordinate, working via global, region-based technical advisors and across UNDP’s GPN. The Consultant will also engage as relevant with the WHO/Europe Secretariat on Working Group on Health in Climate Change (HIC) established under the mandate of the European Environment and Health Task Force. | |||||||||||
Duties and Responsibilities | |||||||||||
Scope and objective of the assignment: The Consultant will carry out analysis of health baseline and vulnerability in the EECCA region in the context of climate change. He/she will review and analyze historical data and projections of the state of public health and health services in the region in order to consolidate and present the evidence of climate change impacts on health and health services. The work of the Consultant will contribute to the design and drafting of the concept note and pre-feasibility study for the regional programme/project on climate and health. The Consultant will work closely with the Lead Programme Development Consultant and will assist with formulation, refinement and negotiation of indicators for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) regional programme/project. In the course of the programme development he/she will also interact with UNDP and WHO technical specialists to coordinate their inputs to the proposal design. The Consultant will provide technical and advisory support to project teams, bureau units and UNDP Country Offices in the context of climate resilient health services, including on evaluating data requirements and availability on the climate vulnerability of health and health services in the region. Due to the COVID pandemic travel restrictions, the tasks associated with this Terms of Reference are expected to be completed through a combination of (a) home-based preparatory work; (b) remote technical assistance to client countries and with UNDP and WHO staff. Tasks and deliverables: The Consultant will work under the overall guidance and supervision of the UNDP IRH Climate and DRR (CDT) and Nature, Climate and Energy (NCE) Teams and will closely coordinate with the WHO European Center for Environment and Health and the UNDP Health Teams at IRH and HQs. The following elements should be covered by the Consultant:
The regional programme/project development needs to be informed with the updated GCF Programming Manual. The development of the regional programme will be coordinated and aligned with the COVID-19 recovery planning and will be aimed, above all, at supporting the COVID-recovery efforts and building resilience to future pandemics through the contribution to the resilience of the health systems in EECCA. The Consultant will:
The specific deliverables are: 1. Draft Health Baseline and Climate Vulnerability Report Number of Days: 15 Timeframe: 30 June 2021 2. Final Health Baseline and Climate Vulnerability Report Number of Days: 7 Timeframe: 31 August 2021 3. Responses to reviews/comments from UNDP and GCF Number of Days: 3 Timeframe: 31 October 2021 Total: 25 days
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Health Baseline and Climate Vulnerability Analysis for Programmatic Framework on Climate Change and Health in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
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